Hi Heather - I was reading your webinar transcript on VIN about loan repayment programs, and I had a question about internship/residency years for veterinarians.  As you may know, many students finish the 4 years of vet school and want to continue their education through internships and residency programs.  Many of these are located at State school.  Most (if not all) of these available intern/resident programs are paid ($25-30K/year) and expect at least full time work.  I was wondering if this type of work would be included in the 10 year public service repayment program you were discussing in your presentation? Or is internship/residency still considered ‘not a job’ as it is also an educational/training program?  I realize that it may depend on if your state school is non profit, so how would I go about finding that information?  I’m planning on doing an internship and residency, however I also want to pay my loans down as much as possible during this time so that I’m not facing extremely high interest payments when I finally get a “real” job.

Thanks for any help!
-Heather Rhoden

Great questions and great name, Heather!

The majority of both public and private universities are 501(c)(3) non-profits.  The easiest way to check is by asking the school itself (they would have an IRS letter to that effect).  The IRS has a database of nonprofits, but it is over inclusive and includes some non-profits that aren’t (c)(3)s.

What I don’t know is whether the school has an employment relationship with its interns and residents.  That matters.  Is it the school that is paying you?